LONDON, Feb 27 - British cinema owners have responded with guarded approval to Paramount Skydance beating Netflix in the competition to buy Warner Bros Discovery, but they warned that the longer-term consequences for theatrical release volumes and employment remain a source of concern.
Netflix withdrew from the bidding on Thursday after declining to increase its offer. Exhibitors have viewed the streaming giant with suspicion because of its longstanding tendency to keep films on its platform rather than pursue traditional, extended theatrical runs, typically giving titles only short cinema windows to meet awards eligibility.
Phil Clapp, chief executive of the UK Cinema Association, said Netflix's decision to drop out removed an element of uncertainty but did not resolve deeper worries about the potential disappearance of a major US studio from the theatrical ecosystem and what that would mean for the slate of films reaching cinemas.
"We take the public statements from Paramount Skydance about its plans for any merged company in good faith - as we did those from Netflix," Clapp said. "But we saw with the Disney acquisition of Fox in 2019 similar public undertakings and now find ourselves in a position where the combined company releases around 40% fewer films than was the case when they were separate."
Paramount chief executive David Ellison has publicly said in an open letter to UK creatives earlier this month that the combined company would deliver a slate of more than 30 films per year, each receiving a full theatrical release.
Tim Richards, founder and chief executive of cinema chain Vue, described Paramount's success in the bidding as lifting some of the immediate uncertainty facing exhibitors, while stressing that concerns about potential job losses would exist regardless of which bidder succeeded.
Richards said that if Netflix had won, cinemas feared a reduction in Warner Bros' theatrical output or the effective collapse of the theatrical release window. He suggested one potential upside from the outcome is that Netflix, having studied Warner Bros' theatrical approach during the bidding process, might adopt more traditional release practices and put some of its own films on the big screen.
"What we would love to see are movies like Greta Gerwig's incredible new 'Chronicles of Narnia' coming out this Thanksgiving, to actually see that on a big screen," Richards said, citing an example of the kinds of films exhibitors hope will retain wide theatrical distribution.
Clapp emphasised that the transaction will require thorough examination by competition authorities, including Britain's Competition and Markets Authority, to secure legally binding commitments on areas such as distribution, marketing and theatrical exclusivity.
Exhibitors are looking for enforceable protections rather than reassurances alone, reflecting experience from prior studio consolidations that public promises did not always translate into preserved theatrical output.
The result of the bidding provides more clarity for the sector but leaves open important questions about how a combined studio would operate, how many films would be produced and released in cinemas, and what this means for jobs across the industry.